BY THE NUMBERS
Dow futures pointed to a strong gain at Wall Street's open after President Donald Trump said in an interview Thursday morning that coronavirus stimulus talks have reopened. On Wednesday, the 30-stock average saw its best session since mid-July on optimism that some coronavirus aid may still be possible in the near-term. (CNBC)
The Labor Department this morning reported a greater-than-expected 840,000 new filings for unemployment benefits for the week ending Oct. 3. That's a sixth week under 1 million for initial jobless claims, in a continuation of a slow recovery in the jobs market. However, such totals are still well above anything the U.S. had ever seen before the pandemic. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
The next presidential debate, set for a week from Thursday in Miami, between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will be virtual, the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates said Thursday morning. However, minutes later, Trump told Fox Business he won't participate, adding he's "not going to waste" his time with a virtual debate.
* Trump says he's not 'contagious at all' days after leaving hospital with coronavirus
The first and only debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris was quieter and more disciplined than last week's chaotic presidential debate. Despite the calmer tone Wednesday night, Harris attacked over the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus and Pence, head of the White House's Covid-19 taskforce, defended it. (CNBC)
* Fly lands on Mike Pence's head during debate, goes viral on social media (USA Today)
In a White House video released last night, Trump called an experimental drug treatment a "cure" for his Covid-19. "I think this was a blessing from God, that I caught it," he said, because it led him to take Regeneron's antibody cocktail. Trump said he wants to get these drug treatments out for the American people as quickly as possible. (AP)
Regeneron said Wednesday evening it submitted an application for emergency use authorization. The president got it under compassionate use. Earlier in the day, Eli Lilly said it applied for emergency authorization for its antibody treatment. Shares of both Regeneron and Lilly were higher in Thursday's premarket trading. (AP & CNBC)
Facebook (FB) announced it will stop running political ads in the U.S. after polls close for the election on Nov. 3, and keep them halted for an indefinite period. The social media network had previously announced it would not allow new political ads to run starting seven days prior to the election. The company also previously said it will not allow any ads that seek to delegitimize the election results. (CNBC)
* Facebook rakes in political ad money as campaigns flood the only digital channel available (CNBC)
J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) pledged $30 billion over the next five years to address racial inequality. The money will go toward mortgages for minority borrowers as well as affordable housing projects, small business loans and philanthropy. With regard to its own workforce of 256,710, the bank said it would hold managers accountable for diversity targets. (CNBC).
Hurricane Delta emerged into the Gulf of Mexico and headed toward Louisiana after making landfall just south of the Mexican resort of Cancun, toppling trees and cutting power to residents of the Yucatan peninsula's resort-studded coast. (AP)
STOCKS TO WATCH
IBM (IBM) said it would spin off the managed infrastructure services unit of its global technology services division into a separate public company, to allow it to focus on its hybrid cloud growth strategy. The spin-off will be accomplished through a tax-free distribution to IBM shareholders. Dow stock IBM jumped 10% in the premarket.
Investment firm Eaton Vance (EV) agreed to be acquired by Morgan Stanley (MS) for $56.50 per share in cash and stock, for a total value of about $7 billion. The news comes just a few days after Morgan Stanley completed its acquisition of E-Trade Financial. Shares of Eaton Vance soared 44% in the premarket.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) earned $2.49 per share for its latest quarter, shy of the $2.79 per share consensus estimate. Revenue beat forecasts, however, and a U.S. comparable-store sales rose 17.5% compared with the 13.9% estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.
Cosmetics company Coty (COTY) announced the expansion of its Kylie Skin line of beauty products, launching direct-to-consumer websites in the U.K., France, Germany and Australia.
Chevron (CVX) workers are being asked to reapply for their jobs as part of a cost-cutting initiative, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters. Chevron is seeking to cut up to 15% of its workforce.
Citigroup (C) will pay $400 million and formulate a plan to address managerial and operational issues. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said they had warned the bank repeatedly about those issues but that Citi had failed to address them.
McDonald's (MCD) said its U.S. same-store sales in the third quarter rose nearly 5% as customers ate more Big Macs and McNuggets for dinner. Costco (COST) warehouse retailer reported a 15.5% increase in September comparable sales, compared to the 9.2% increase expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Walmart's (WMT) Sam's Club unit is planning to sell smaller packages of food for the holiday season, in anticipation of downsized family gatherings due to the pandemic.
Nikola (NKLA) is seeking to rebuild investor confidence ahead of the Nov. 30 expiration of share lockups, according to a story in today's Financial Times. The paper said the electric truck maker is hoping that the technology it will present at today's Mission Hydrogen conference will help negate doubts.